New report highlights areas that are most deprived

THE most deprived places in Wales in 2025 have been revealed in new official Welsh Government statistics.

- ABBIE WIGHTWICK

The Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation (WIMD) is published once every five years and looks at income, health, education, housing and access to services.

The report is intended to highlight the areas that need of the greatest help funding and services but the Welsh Government said changes in which data is collected means it cannot be used compare with the last index in 2019 or other UK nations.

However, it notes that “half of the 10 most deprived areas in WIMD 2019 remained in the 10 most deprived areas for WIMD 2025”.

The WIMD 2025 overall index results show that Blaenau Gwent is the most deprived local authority area in Wales and Monmouthshire the last deprived.

The new figures show pockets of high relative deprivation in parts of Rhyl, Cardiff and Caerphilly as well as “deep rooted deprivation” in parts of Swansea.

Two small areas in Rhyl and Wrexham have been ranked within the top 10 most deprived since 2005.